NPD Project Manager

Advocate Group; Greater London; On-site; GBP 65,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

The Advocate Group, partnered with Monster Energy, seeks a seasoned NPD Project Manager to lead exciting new product development and commercialisation projects across a high-profile portfolio. You will drive end-to-end delivery from concept through launch, coordinating Commercial, Marketing, Supply Chain, Procurement and Operations teams across the EMEA region.

Own the NPD portfolio, manage scope, timelines and governance, and ensure OTIF delivery while aligning with regional stakeholders and

Qualifications

• 5+ years in commercialization project management.
• Experience with stage-and-gate processes is required.
• Strong communicator with clear written and verbal skills.
• Savvy in prioritizing and influencing with a program mindset.

Responsibilities

• Own the NPD portfolio for part of the EMEA region.
• Collaborate with internal and external teams managing intake and governance.
• Ensure OTIF delivery of NPD projects through disciplined PM.

Skills

Project management

NPD management

Cross-functional leadership

Stakeholder management

Commercial acumen

Go-to-market planning

Education

Higher education degree

Business management background

Tools

SAP

Job description

Ready to take the lead on the next generation of products?

The Advocate Group is partnered with Monster Energy, seeking a seasoned and ambitious NPD Project Manager to lead exciting new product development and commercialisation projects.

This is an opportunity to work across a high-profile portfolio, bringing together Commercial, Marketing, Supply Chain, Procurement and Operations teams to turn ideas into successful products from concept through to launch.

Key Responsibilities

• Own the New Product Development (NPD) portfolio for a part of the EMEA region.
• Collaborate with internal and external commercial and operations teams managing project intake and alignment ahead of monthly governance.
• Ensure On-Time-In-Full (OTIF) delivery of NPD projects by addressing challenges and through a disciplined project management approach.

Project Scoping and Planning

• Collaborate with stakeholders to define commercial, technical and operational requirements and success criteria.
• Lead project scoping exercises to identify deliverables and milestones.
• Develop detailed project plans, timelines, and manage project interdependencies.

Manage the complete end to end delivery of NPD projects

• Collaborate with upstream US HQ based NPD teams on product development initiatives.
• Ensure timely deliveough the S&OP process.
• Liaise with bottling partners and co-packers ensuring timely commercialization of projects through weekly calls.

Leadership of Cross-Divisional Project Team Delivery

• Lead the cross-divisional project team, providing direction and guidance through regular project calls and effective action tracking.
• Maintain pace by ensuring team adherence to project timelines and deadlines.
• Prioritize tasks and activities to align with project goals and objectives.

Stakeholder Management

• Serve as the primary point of contact for internal and external multi-regional stakeholders.
• Facilitate effective collaboration and trust among project teams ensuring clarity through clear written and verbal communication, respecting different cultures.
• Provide timely and prioritized information to stakeholders and management to enable informed decisions and effective escalation of critical issues.
• Identify potential risks and prioritize them based on their impact and likelihood.
• Develop risk management strategies and prioritize mitigation plans accordingly.
• Enable the rapid resolution of high-priority risks to minimize their impact on project objectives.

Adherence to Project Management Tools and Processes

• Utilize project management tools and processes to plan, execute, and monitor projects.
• Maintain accurate and up-to-date information in the project management system.
• Ensure end to end timings, milestones and risks and documented for stage and gate governance.

Utilize Data Analysis and Reporting

• Create and utilize reports to analyze large amounts of data.
• Prioritize data analysis efforts based on project objectives and requirements.
• Draw conclusions and make recommendations based on prioritized data insights.

Contribution to Continuous Improvement

• Identify opportunities to enhance departmental processes and workflows.
• Prioritize improvement initiatives based on potential impact and feasibility.
• Collaborate with team members to implement prioritized improvements.

Maintain Comprehensive Knowledge of the full NPD Process

• Stay updated on the end-to-end project delivery process.
• Prioritize learning and development activities to enhance NPD process knowledge.
• Provide guidance and expertise on NPD process-related matters to project team members.

Your Profile

• 5+ years’ experience in commercialization project management, preferably in the consumer goods industry.
• Higher education qualification in a relevant scientific or business management discipline is desired.
• Experience in project management techniques/ tools is required, including managing within a stage and gate process.
• An accomplished communicator – clear, considered, succinct and flexible in style.
• Business and commercial acumen to prioritize, challenge, support and influence with program mindset to deliver optimum outcome.
• Experience in managing technical project delivery through upstream product development and downstream supply chain planning to production cycle. Experience of working in SAP is desired.
• Highly organized and rigorous, able to effectively manage 100 – 200 end to end projects in parallel at pace. Uses experience to prioritize time against the most critical projects.

The Advocate Group is a leading recruitment partner, based in the UK, to the FMCG and consumer product sectors. We are an equal opportunities employer and welcome applications from all suitably qualified persons regardless of their race, sex, disability, religion/belief, sexual orientation, or age. By applying for this role, you are agreeing to our Privacy Policy, which can be found on our website. Please note that The Advocate Group is acting as an employment agency in relation to this vacancy.